Warning: this article contains full spoilers for X-Men ‘97: Season 1, Episode 7. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out IGN’s review for “Bright Eyes.”
X-Men ‘97 threw viewers for a loop with its fifth episode, culminating in the deaths of countless mutants on Genosha, including the fan-favorite Gambit. But who was responsible for unleashing the giant Master Mold? Episode 6 suggested it was Mister Sinister, but in the wake of Episode 7, we know a true mastermind villain is pulling even Sinister’s strings. Meet Bastion.
Bastion is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous and resourceful villains the X-men have ever faced in the comics. But who is Bastion. Is he human, Sentinel or something else entirely? Here’s what you need to know about this Marvel villain and how he may factor into the final three episodes of X-Men ‘97’s first season.
Bastion and Operation: Zero Tolerance
Bastion was created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Pasqual Ferry and debuted in 1996’s X-Men #52. He is the leader of Operation: Zero Tolerance, a secretive government program designed to neutralize the threat of mutants.
While Bastion originally believes himself to be a government agent named Sebastion Gilberti, he eventually discovers the truth about himself. He’s actually a fusion of a Master Mold and the futuristic Sentinel Nimrod, becoming something wholly new after passing through the mystical portal known as the Siege Perilous. His powers include incredible strength, energy projection, flight and the ability to control other Sentinels.
Bastion is the main villain of the 1996 crossover storyline Operation: Zero Tolerance. With Professor Xavier a captive of the government following the Onslaught storyline, Bastion gains access to the Xavier Protocols, giving his invaluable intel on the X-Men’s weaknesses. Using this knowledge and a new nanotechnology that allows him to transform ordinary humans into all-powerful Prime Sentinels, Bastion launches an all-out assault on the X-Men.
Though he was defeated and Operation: Zero Tolerance was shut down, Bastion has returned to plague the X-Men several times over the years. Most notably, Bastion is the main villain of 2010’s X-Men: Second Coming crossover, which occurs at a time when mutantkind is on the brink of extinction. This highly evolved, humanoid Sentinel will always be one of the X-Men’s deadliest foes.
Bastion in X-Men ‘97
Bastion was teased via Easter eggs in early episodes of the series (including a photo in Forge’s cabin in Episode 4), but this villain first makes his presence known in X-Men ‘97’s fifth episode, as he sends a hulking Master Mold to Genosha to wipe out this newly emerging mutant nation. The resulting bloodshed claims thousands of lives, including Gambit and seemingly Magneto.
Bastion doesn’t appear in the “flesh” until Episode 7, as the X-Men mourn the dead and begin uncovering the truth about Operation: Zero Tolerance. Bastion emerges from hiding to kill Henry Peter Gyrich and is later shown conferring with Mister Sinister, who seemingly had a hand in creating Bastion’s advanced cybernetic body.
Based on that scene, it appears the series is altering Bastion’s origin somewhat. Rather than being a mystical fusion of Master Mold and Nimrod, Bastion looks to be designed by Sinister using cybernetics based on Nimrod’s body. Bastion also alludes to being someone the X-Men have faced before, a villain who has managed to evolve in the way men like Sinister haven’t. Is he simply referring to being derived from Nimrod, or is Bastion actually another villain we’ve seen before, like Graydon Creed or the X-Cutioner?
Whatever his origin, it’s clear Bastion is being positioned as the endgame villain of Season 1. The final three episodes of Season 1 are dubbed “Tolerance Is Extinction,” suggesting the series will adapt the Operation: Zero Tolerance comic storyline. The X-Men’s battle with Bolivar Trask shows that Bastion has already perfected his Prime Sentinel technology. He also seems poised to tap into the Xavier Files and target the X-Men with deadly force. Will Gambit be the only X-Man to fall this season?
Bastion also reveals that both Xavier and Magneto factor heavily into his plans. He hopes to expose the lie that Xavier died, shattering the public’s newfound trust in the X-Men. As for Magneto, we learn that the Master of Magnetism survived his apparent death on Genosha and is now Bastion’s prisoner. Will Bastion transform Magneto into some horrific mutant version of a Prime Sentinel? Will he seize on the fact that the general public is still wary of this former mutant terrorist, transforming him into a boogeyman who will further galvanize humans against mutants?
At this point, the time-traveling Cable may be the X-Men’s only hope. Cable is seen racing to prevent the destruction of Genosha in Episode 5, only to arrive too late. He returns in Episode 7, narrowly saving the X-Men from their first encounter with a Prime Sentinel. The threat of Bastion is now so great that Cable has to travel into the past to stop a hellish future from coming to pass. At this point, the X-Men need all the help they can get.
For more on X-Men '97, learn about why Vulcan's debut is such a big deal and why it's great that the series remembered the melodrama.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
